Madison — The state of the wide receiver corps at Wisconsin over the last five seasons often has led to one nagging question:
How would the Badgers' passing game have fared without the production from walk-ons?
The answer: poorly.
Beginning with the 2010 season and running through last season, wide receivers who joined the program as walk-ons accounted for 266 catches, 4,039 receiving yards and 26 touchdown catches.
The two receivers: Jared Abbrederis (Wautoma) and Alex Erickson (Darlington), both of whom played quarterback in high school and eventually earned scholarships at UW.
The wide receivers who joined the program already on scholarship during that run accounted for 291 catches, 3,585 receiving yards and 21 touchdown catches.